Page 83 of Thorulf

Love.

Thorulf felt no fear or a need for revenge, only love when he closed his wings around the purple dragon killing Jade. Forgiveness for everything Evil had put them through. Thankfulness that they had at least experienced love in one life before she was taken from him.

He pushed love into the enemy from the outside as Jade pushed it into Evil from the inside. For, as Thor had implied, what better weapon was there against this kind of darkness?

In turn, the purple dragon released a low, echoing groan of agony. A groan born of a god becoming saturated in the very thing that weakened it most. Combine that with good Celtic and Norse magic and forget it.

“Thank you,”Jade managed into Evil’s mind, remaining grateful rather than bitter. Focusing on the positive while she filtered the negative.“Thank you for being there when I found love. For showing me how strong it can really be.”

Everything was going dark, but she didn’t fight it. She just kept taking Evil’s negativity and filtering it away. Letting love wash it clean. A process that, while gratifying, was taking her life force with it. She wasn’t afraid, though. Not when she felt Thorulf close. When she felt his love soaking through Evil and covering her. Easing her way into the afterlife.

“No,”he whispered into her mind, closer still despite Evil being between them.“I lost you once, mate. I won’t lose you again. If you go, I go.”Closer still, undoubtedly propelled by protective Norse magic.“We will fight this war from the other side together.”Closer still as he wrapped her and Evil up tighter. As the enemy became less and less.“I’ll never forget you again, mate. I’ll always find you. Always stay with you no matter how hard it might become.”

“Me too,”she croaked, feeling the burn of her fiery tears.“Always.”

She tried to speak again, but she couldn’t draw in air anymore. It was all fading away, growing dark. Not him, though. Never him.

“Thorulf,”she tried to whisper, willing him to step back from the edge as the purple dragon pushed her over. Not an actual cliff this time, but into the dark abyss of death.“Don’t follow me. Live.”

Then all went black.

Silence fell. Stretched.

Until she swore, she heard sound from far away.

“Never,”closer,“not without you, mate,”closer still,“I’ll always follow you.”

Would he? Could he?

Suddenly the darkness fell away, and just like that, she was elsewhere, zooming along the Irish shoreline. Nose-diving into clovers. Staring up at Adlin. Sauntering toward Thor. Then outrunning Hel. Zooming faster and faster until her little dragon stopped short.

A pregnant woman had stopped at the entrance to a cave.

She seemed to be aware Jade was there because she met her eyes, smiled warmly, and nodded once. Almost as if she were giving her blessing.

Drawn to her swollen belly, Jade stared when glorious green light started shining moments before a little black dragon popped out. She looked at him in amazement. He looked at her with just as much wonder.

She cocked her head, taken with all the green light around him.“Who are you?”

“Don’t you know?”he asked.

“I think maybe I do,”she murmured. It was on the tip of her tongue. Right there, waiting to be remembered. She looked a little closer, quite thrilled by the look in his eyes.“You want to stay with me forever, don’t you?”

“I do.”Little Thorulf shifted closer.“Do you want to stay with me too?”

She nodded, more excited by the moment, sensing many great adventures with him. Many happy memories.

“Then stay with me, mate,”he urged.“Wrap your arms around me and stay with me.”

His voice wasn’t quite right, deeper than it had been seconds before, but she didn’t care. When he lifted his wings, she revved up and raced into his arms, not just thrilled to be starting life but loving him so much it hurt.

“Good,”he rumbled, and everything morphed. She wasn’t embracing little Thorulf anymore but present-day Thorulf.

His wings were wrapped around her, and Evil was gone.

“Thorulf,”she whispered. He was haloed by the same brilliant green light she’d seen before, only now it was fire.“Is this...are we...”

“We are.”He rubbed his neck against hers then met her eyes again.“We’re Forging in Fire.”